YogiTriathlete Podcast Jess & BJ Gumkowski

Welcome to the first race smackdown of 2024, and it's not to be missed! Today, we bring together the minds and muscles of YT head coach BJ and Finding Endurance coach Jennifer, both of whom smashed the course while remaining focused on their bigger goal of IRONMAN Texas at the end of April.

This race is a YT favorite, just a few miles down the road from YogiTriathlete headquarters in Carlsbad. Thank you to everyone in the community who introduced yourselves, attended Jess and BJ's breath-focused workshop, and cheered on the YTs on the course this year. We'll be back in 2025 and invite you to join us in training and racing for the year to come.

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on your favorite place to listen to it. You can also support the commercial-free nature of the YTP and Awake Athlete podcasts by joining our Patreon community.

In this episode:

- Jennifer’s first Oceanside 70.3
- BJ’s 4th go at the race
- Prep for cold temperatures
- Success or sabotage
- Pro Tips
- Getting a slot to IMWC Nice, France
- How to make a bike go fast
- Pack cycling in non-drafting races
- When the legs don't show up
- Feel it, let it go, focus
- Fastest run split in 13 years
- Nutrition break down
- Risking more in Texas
- What else is possible
- Time to play and time to be serious
- Join us in 2025 at IRONMAN Oceanside 70.3

We've got first-year professional triathletes and power couple Mitch Ott and Caroline Kaplan on the show today. These two have big dreams and are committed to making them a reality.

BJ found their YouTube channel Rise and Tri a few months ago, and has been following since. Their honest accounts, relationship nuances, and dedication to training are all on display as they share generously about what it looks and feels like to be burgeoning professionals in the fast-changing landscape of triathlon.

Sometime during their successful 2023 racing year, which included Caroline's win at the USAT Long Course Triathlon National Championship at Clash Daytona and Mitch's second-place podium finish, which he earned by breaking the 4-hour barrier, they decided that 2024 was the year to take the leap.

Jess and BJ dive into their progression from age group to pro and their grand visions for the future. We hope you enjoy the show and give Caroline, Mitch, and Rise and Tri a follow to help increase their exposure in the world of professional triathlon.

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on your favorite place to listen to it. You can also support the commercial-free nature of the YTP and Awake Athlete podcasts by joining our Patreon community.

In this episode:

- new pursuit excitement
- moving from age group to professional
- volume & intensity increase
- recovery challenges
- focus on nutrition
- listening to how you feel
- staying calm when pushing efforts
- favorite swim sets
- exploring a new life
- Working Triathlete
- bringing out the best in each other
- professional dreams
- making decisions that don’t make sense to others
- planting seeds of belief

We're thrilled to welcome professional triathlete turned professional trail runner Eli Hemming to the show.

Jess and BJ followed Eli's career through Olympic distance draft-legal racing on the world stage until he chose to step away from his career as a professional triathlete. Despite being ranked #1 in the U.S. because of his multiple World Cup podiums, Eli's happiness factor was falling, and he could no longer ignore that it was time for a radical change.

When he hit the trail running scene in 2021, he immediately found success qualifying for the 2022 Mountain Running Championships, and when he crossed over from sub-ultra to ultra-distance racing with a 2nd at the Way Too Cool. He finished that year with several podiums but did not claim victory at a race until 2023, a year of continued improvements and highlights like placing 2nd at the Marathon Du Mont Blanc.

Since the calendar turned to 2024, he's been on a winning streak; it's almost as if the trails have been patiently awaiting his arrival.

Jess and BJ caught up with Eli less than a week after he took the win at the Big Alta 50k by over 20 minutes in a cool 3:38:33, an incredible feat considering this race came on the heels of crushing his competition at the Black Canyon 60k just two weeks prior, where he broke the tape by 30 minutes over 2nd place in 4:06:39. Smoking fast!

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on your favorite place to listen to it. You can also support the commercial-free nature of the YTP and Awake Athlete podcasts by joining our Patreon community.

In this episode:

- The feeling of winning
- Finding fulfillment now
- Hot from the start or slow build?
- Opportunities for growth in his trail running skills
- Knowing where the bar is set with competition
- Racing in Europe versus the US
- Routine philosophy
- Importance of specificity of racing
- Black Canyon Ultra goals
- Why don’t we fuel enough while racing?
- Big Alta learnings on nutrition
- Golden Trail World Series
- The uprising of sub-ultra racing
- What does happiness feel like

Coaches Jess and Melissa are back with the third and final episode in their Women's Wellness Series.

Jess, Mindset and Wellness coach for YogiTriathlete, has practiced and educated others on the ancient sciences of yoga (the mind) and ayurveda (optimal health) for decades. Melissa, Herbalist and Triathlon/Running Coach for Team YogiTriathlete, trains and races while supporting herself and her athletes with herbal medicine and wellness practices.

Their inspiration to begin this series was to serve and spread the good word about what remains a mystery on a mass level. Many have lived decades navigating hormonal imbalances, cramps, cycles, and symptoms without a community, but now we have one. These episodes are important for women and their partners to better understand the full scope of the feminine entity.

Today, based on feedback and some questions, the coaches dive in a bit more on the cycle from an Ayurvedic standpoint and also talk about support throughout the decades of our lives.

Thank you for tuning in, and please help others find the show by leaving a review on your favorite place to listen.

In this episode:

- What I wish I knew
- Menopause - never too late or too early to embrace
- Melissa’s going the seed route for her garden this year
- Nighttime elixir
- How to best support the phases of life
- Oat straw benefits
- Pitta phase: stress relief and rejuvenation
- Making tea in a French Press with herbs
- Vata phase: making the most of change
- Salty vs. sweet tastes in the phases
- Benefits of Ginseng
- Later phases of life: relish and rebirth, grace
- Raspberry infusions loaded with minerals
- Ginger and turmeric to get your flo moving
- Lions Mane benefits
- Kapha dosha - slow-moving and heavy
- Is napping for Kapha good?
- Unexplained weight gain
- Importance of high-intensity work

The North American IRONMAN triathlon season kicks off just weeks away at Oceanside 70.3, and YogiTriathlete will be on site. In this episode, coaches Jess and BJ advise those attempting to conquer this course, and BJ shares his race plan as he balances his pursuit to his fastest IRONMAN in Texas later that same month.

And then, from a completely different hemisphere, where summer is fading into fall, Jess returns from leading her first yoga adventure in Patagonia, Chile. We dive into her experience, transition home, and future intentions. Yoga adventures are expertly curated adventure travel experiences grounded in daily yoga practice. They are the perfect retreat for those who desire to stay active, explore new land, be immersed in local culture, and spend a little time on the mat to keep fit and soak it all in.

We hope you will join her in the future - the Mediterranean Bliss, Sicily Yoga Adventure, September 28-October 5, is now open for registration. Perhaps the perfect accompaniment to the women's world championship in Nice, France, on September 22nd.

In this episode:

- Oceanside 70.3 is right around the corner!
- Tips for Oceanside 70.3
- Stay on top of nutrition even in the cooler temps
- Freedom to travel without tethers
- Results of stuffing our feelings and emotions
- Patagonia Yoga Adventure
- Letting go
- Finding peace and calm anywhere
- The power of the Futa
- Answer your calling
- Release the need to know WHY
- The only reason we fear
- Patagonia 2025?

Having checked out from the Ojas Retreat center just hours before following their first-ever Women's Wellness Retreat, BJ sat down with retreat leaders Meg, Val, and Jess to download the experience.

This episode is a firsthand, fresh recollection of a powerful community of women coming together to remember their true nature. There is something for everyone in this episode, as returning to our true nature is not just for the women on this retreat but for every person navigating the complexities of life.

Remembering our true nature through the practices of yoga and ayurveda has become a recurring theme with the retreats led by this trio, and more are in the making.

The three are planning to return to Costa Rica in 2025; this is a very popular retreat; if you are interested in joining them, please make a comment, and we will put you on the list to receive word of this beloved retreat and access to early registration.

In this episode:

- Ojas Retreat Center
- NEW OFFERINGS in Ayurveda and Somatic Breathwork
- Purpose of somatic breath work
- Nervous system sovereignty
- The cave you fear holds the treasure you seek
- Safe space for vulnerability
- It's not just what we eat
- Self-love workshop
- Gua Sha practice on the body
- Notice. Open. Allow.
- Intentions for the retreat leaders
- Retreat life joy, fun, and belly laughs
- Hiking in silence with a curiosity about what's ahead
- Dance parties and drum-offs
- Who are these retreats for?